


Camping on Mount Coronet

by Scalpha



Category: Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures
Genre: Angst, Camping, Confession, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 17:22:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15124262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scalpha/pseuds/Scalpha
Summary: 10 years after the events in the distortion world, Diamond, Pearl and Platinum go camping on Mount Coronet. There, an unexpected confession happens.





	Camping on Mount Coronet

A young, raven-haired boy sat alone, curled up on the futon in his tent, his face buried in his arms.

An older, blond boy ran through the mountain they were camping on, a frown on his face, his eyebrows furrowed. If he wasn't running so fast, one might even be able to see a tear or two on his face.

The oldest of the three was in her tent, sipping coffee and flipping the pages of a book. She was trying her best not to think about "his" words for now.

\---

Ten years have passed since the events in the distortion world. Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, who had moved on to save the Sinnoh Region several times after that, continued to be close friends, Diamond and Pearl still being her bodyguards, of course. They travelled across the world, to Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Unova, Kalos, Alola... they even travelled _beyond_ the world they called home, saving the Alola Region from the so-called "Ultra Beasts" alongside their juniors and seniors. And during all that time, they barely had any fights; there were some arguments, but those were few and far between, never lasting long.

Diamond smiled as he gazed into the campfire, the marshmallows on the stick he was holding slowly turning crisp and golden. He never expected any of this to happen. He expected to just become a comedian alongside Pearl (which he did, of course, but that's a story for another day), but now? He was a Dexholder! He'd saved the world on multiple occasions! Though he wouldn't have been able to do any of that on his own, of course. His friends saved him many times. What would he do without them? Over the many years that they'd been together, he doubted that there was anything that could tear them apart.

"Hey, Missy?" Pearl said, his mouth filled with Marshmallows, "Uhh... Why're you sticking your marshmallows straight into the flame?"

Platinum stared at him, her expression completely neutral. "What do you mean?"

"You usually don't do that... You, like, hold 'em close to the flame! Wait, I'll show you!" He said.

Then, he grabbed a couple more of the treats out of the bag and pierced his stick through one before holding the marshmallow on the stick over the flame. "Like this. Then you wait 'til they're brown and eat 'em! Like this!" He shoved the sticky treat in his mouth, and with huge grin on his face, started chewing on it... that smile, however, quickly morphed into an expression of agony. "AAAAAAAAAH!" He yelled, instantly filled with regret and gagging harshly. Platinum and Diamond shared a look, giggling.

"Camping on Mount Coronet was a great idea, Missy." Diamond said as he waited for the next batch of marshmallows to cook.

"I'm glad you think so, Diamond. I thought it was appropriate, considering the occasion."

"Yeah… Man, I can't believe it's already been ten years since we met."

Pearl hummed in agreement, trying his best to hold back the pain in his tongue (and a few tears too, but no one needed to know that).

"And, well…” Platinum smiled down at the paper resting in her lap. “I wanted to tell you two something. As you know, I'm not the best with words, so I wrote what I have to say down.

"Dear Diamond. Thank you. No matter the situation, you've always wanted the best for me, even if it meant the worst for you. You were ready to give your life for both Pearl and I, you were ready to stop being my bodyguard if it meant the best for me and you've entrusted me so much more than anyone else ever has. You've always been so empathetic, and that is only one of the many reasons I look up to you. I thank you, from the bottom of my heart. And I hope that you will continue to be not only my shield, but also my friend."

Dia teared up a little. He quickly wiped his tears, a wide smile on his face.

"Dear Pearl. Thank you, too. You were always ready to step up for me, to fight for me and to train me. Without you, I would be nowhere near where I am today, and I doubt that any bodyguard could have replaced you. Your determination is so inspiring. The way you always finish what you've started, how you won't let anyone hurt the ones you love. Even when it seems like there is no way you can win a battle, you won't give up. So, I thank you too. Please, continue to be my sword, and continue to stay by my side."

Pearl bit his lip, doing his best to hold back tears. The two of them loudly clapped.

"That was beautiful, Missy." Diamond said, his voice cracking. Platinum responded by bowing with a small smile on her face.

They spent the rest of the evening looking at the stars, laughing, stuffing themselves with marshmallows until they felt like they were about to vomit... It was amazing.

\---

Pearl lay in his tent, his arms behind his head, chuckling to himself. _'Ten years, huh?'_ He couldn't help but dwell on it, when a voice interrupts his train of thought.

"Pearl?", the voice that he quickly recognized as Missy's asked.

The Determiner swiftly got up, practically leaping towards the entrance of the tent. "Missy!? What're you doing here..? Shouldn't you be asleep already?"

"A-ah... I suppose I should be." She said in a tone that Pearl had never heard from her before. Her hand came up to pull a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and only then did Pearl notice the tremors running down her arms.

“Missy, you're shaking! Are you sure you're okay? Please, come in! I should still have some hot chocolate in my thermos, and uh- here, my scarf! Do you need a blanket? I have one over here somewhere, or maybe-” His concerned rambling was cut off by a quiet laugh.

“Ah- no, Pearl, I assure you I'm fine.” she said, back to her usual self. “My apologies. I needed to talk to you about something.”

_'Her body language is all off... something's definitely up. I need to help her as much as I can.'_ , he stepped to the side, giving her some room. “Alright, come on in.”

He kneeled down on his futon, pouring both of them a cup of hot chocolate.

Straight to the point seems like the best option. “So, eh, what did you need to talk about, Missy?”

The young woman took her cup with a shaky, half-hearted smile, her mouth turning downwards in moments. “This is something I've had on my mind for a long time, but I figured it's something I shouldn't write down before I say it. So... I apologize if I stutter a bit.”

“It's all good, don't worry. Shoot!”

She put her hands on her knees before swallowing. She had to do this. "I... I am very grateful for all that you have done for me- for _us_ , over the course of our journey. The time I spent with you and Dia was truly amazing, but... how do I say this... Ah, over the last few months, if not years, I've…” She looked at the floor. “I've noticed that I enjoy the time I’ve spent with you in multiple ways. Whenever we were in the living room waiting while Diamond cooked food for us, I... found my heart beating much quicker than usual. When I see you smile, I can't help but smile myself, it's infectious.”

Pearl's eyes widened. No... no way.

"Pearl, I think… I think I love you?” It comes out as more of a question than anything, but she frowns and looks up from her cup into his eyes. “I don't want you to just be my sword. I don't want you to just be my friend. I want you to be with me. I…” The hands holding her cup begins to shake more, the look of doubt in her eyes fading. “I want you to be mine.”

So many thoughts spiral through his head. _'Nonono... This isn't how it's supposed to go! It's wrong. It's all wrong! Dia was supposed to confess to her, they were supposed to marry, have kids, enjoy their lives together... Dia has had a crush on her since they were, like, 12! Well so did I but... he deserves her so much more. He... he's had it so hard. Having to hold everything back, I can't just- I can't just take this away from him!'_ He started breathing heavily, as sweat dripped off of his forehead and his eyes widened even further. "I- I'm, I uh...."

"Is everything alright? I understand if you do not feel the same way as I, Pearl..."

"Missy, I'm sorry, I'm... It's, uh, not that I don't, just, just..." He sighed heavily, closing his eyes. "Can you... wait until tomorrow, please? I need time to think."

"Ah... I understand. Take all the time you need, Pearl. I will wait."

Platinum got up and walked back to her tent. Pearl gripped his hair, pulling at it. " _Fuck_." All previous weariness he could have felt earlier from the late hour was completely drained from him. He breathed in, trying to gather his wits.

A few minutes later, he steeled himself as he got up and walked to Diamonds tent.

"Hey, Dia? You awake? We, ah, need to talk."

"Hmm? Pearl?” The shorter man didn't seem to sense his nerves, as he smiled lazily. “Yeah, come in."

When Pearl entered the tent, he could see Dia enjoying some sweets with Lax. "What's up?"

Pearl kneeled down. "I'm so sorry."

The Empathizer stared at him with a blank face before he processed his best friend’s tone and downcast expression. "...Huh?"

"I... I need your help."

"Sorry, Lax, could you go back into your ball for now?" He asked his friend, and Lax obliged. Dia grabbed a blanket, covering Pearl in it. "Are you okay, buddy? What's wrong?"

"I..." He gripped the blanket, his eyes shut tightly. "Missy confessed to me, Dia."

Diamond froze in place. "...Oh."

Pearl opened his eyes, dread dropping a rock in his gut, glancing up at the other man. He was... smiling?

"That's great! You have a crush on her, don't you? You've had for a long time. I'm so happy for you, Pearl!"

Pearl's lower lip quivered. "Wh... But... No... Dia, no, that..."

"Really. I'm so glad that you can both be hap-"

"No!" Pearl yelled. "No, that's not- that's all wrong! _You_ love her! You always have! For ten! Years! I can't just take her away from you like this, I- I can't. I can't. I can't!"

Tears streamed down his face. He was shaking, overwhelmed with guilt. He just... _couldn't_ be happy about this. He couldn't.

"Pearl..." Diamond said, quietly. He moved over to him, gently wrapping his arms around his shoulders. "It's okay. I promise. If she loves you and you love her, then both of you will be happy! And if you're happy, I'm happy. So please. Just do what your heart tells you to."

His eyes widened. He stood up briskly, causing Dia to let go of him, and apologized. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I just... need to think about this. I'm sorry."

"Pearl, please-"

But Pearl had already left the tent.

\---

Dia, now alone, closed the zipper that served as lock. He buried his face in his arms, unsure of what to feel. He _should_ feel happy for Pearl, right? The crush that he had on Platinum for so long... Diamond had known about it. Of course he had, it was one of the reasons he'd never confessed in the first place. He'd hoped that he would get over it, take a breath and move on with his life, but it's been ten years and he still hasn't. He laughed quietly to himself as he felt the tears begin to fall from his eyes.

"Life is so unfair sometimes..."

He just wanted them to be happy. Both Pearl and Platinum. So if he had to suffer for them to be happy, for his best friend and his crush to be happy, then he would. _He_ would be happy, even if he's not sure how. ‘Grin and bear it’, that's what Pearl would say. He'd do it for them. No matter how bad the pain, he'd endure it.

\---

Pearl sprinted through Mount Coronet, tears streaming down his face. He ran and ran and ran until his legs and his whole body _ached_ , and then ran some more. He had to stop, completely out of breath and feeling sick, though he was unsure whether that was because of the running or because of the events that had just transpired. He punched a wall, once, twice, ten times, more than he could count. ' _Why did it have to be like this? Why couldn't she have just fallen for Diamond? Why couldn't I just be the one who gets hurt? Diamond doesn't deserve this... He… What… What do I DO?'_

\---

Platinum, holding a cup of hot coffee in her hand, sat on her futon, reading a book. She was doing her best not to think about Pearl's words for now. Was confessing the wrong idea? She wasn't sure. Maybe she should've talked to Diamond about it first... but it was too late now. She couldn't just turn time back, and she certainly did not regret what she said. It was all true, after all... she really did love Pearl. With all her heart. The way he made her feel... so safe. His smile, so "dorky", as most would put it. She truly loved him.

...

Platinum had a feeling that she would not get a lot of sleep that night.

\---

As the sun started shining upon the place where the trio was camping, an exhausted Pearl came out of a cave, his knuckles bloody and his eyes staring at the cold, rocky ground. He slowly made his way over to Missy's camp- He finally knew what he had to do.

"Missy?"

He asked, his voice hoarse from all the screaming. Platinum, who hadn't caught even a few minutes of sleep that night, hurried over to the zipper locking the tent and opened it. "Pearl?" she asked.

Pearl could tell how concerned she was. "I think I have an answer."

The Understander's mouth formed an almost perfect 'O', but she quickly gathered her composure again. "Do you... want to come i-"

Pearl didn't even let her finish her sentence. "I love you." He said, looking her straight in the eyes. Platinum could see bags under his eyes, something she definitely wasn't used to, at least not from him. But she could see something else, too. He was blushing. "I really love you, Missy... I... I don't know if this is right, for many reasons, but... I've determined that this is the right choice for me. So uh..." He sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "I'm not really a smooth talker, so I'll just get straight to the point."

Platinum could feel her heart speed up, she could feel heat rising from her chest to her cheeks and she felt like she was flying. So many thoughts went through her head... Then, Pearl stretched his hand out to her.

"Would you like to go out with me?"

She wrapped her arms around him. She'd usually never do this, but now it just seemed appropriate. "Yes. Yes, I would Pearl." The girl said as she nuzzled against his chest. There may be many things that she doesn't understand, especially things related to her own feelings, but what she did understand was... that this was love.

\---

Diamond watched it happen. He would've cried, but... he couldn't.

He should've been happy, like Missy and Pearl.

As much as he wanted to, this was the one thing he just couldn’t bring himself to be happy about. He couldn’t help but wish it was him.

Maybe then, his heart wouldn’t ache so much.

But, of course, he won’t let them know that. He’ll just keep it to himself.

Like always.

  
  


 

**Author's Note:**

> Phew! This was for the Sinnoh Week on the Pokémon Adventures Amino.  
> Big thanks to my friends Ashton and Devilseabiscuit for beta-reading and bringing the best out of the fic! I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
